North Americas Role in ALMA

North America's Role in ALMA

North America's contributions to ALMA include:

  • The North American ALMA Science Center, ALMA "headquarters" for North America
  • Receiver cartridges for ALMA bands 3 and 6
  • An ALMA "Front End Integration Center" where receiver cartridges from around the world are integrated into large cabinets that are then shipped to Chile for installation into antennas
  • At least twenty-five 12-meter antennas
  • ALMA's photonic local oscillator
  • Digital electronics for transmitting signals from the antennas
  • The correlator for the 12-meter array
  • The Array Operations Site (AOS) technical building, second highest steel frame building in the world
  • Road and power distribution to the AOS
  • A variety of tools, including the Common Astronomy Software Applications (CASA) tool, Simdata, and Splatalogue.

Connect with NRAO

The NSF National Radio Astronomy Observatory and NSF Green Bank Observatory are facilities of the U.S. National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

Founded in 1956, the NSF NRAO provides state-of-the-art radio telescope facilities for use by the international scientific community. NSF NRAO telescopes are open to all astronomers regardless of institutional or national affiliation. Observing time on NSF NRAO telescopes is available on a competitive basis to qualified scientists after evaluation of research proposals on the basis of scientific merit, the capability of the instruments to do the work, and the availability of the telescope during the requested time. NSF NRAO also provides both formal and informal programs in education and public outreach for teachers, students, the general public, and the media.

The U.S. National Science Foundation (U.S. NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense..."

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